Iraq war victims lawsuit allege pharmaceutical companies' bribery led to U.S. troop deaths

Big pharma knowingly funded anti-American militia? According to a law suit filed by dozens of killed or injured troops, yep.

The families of dozens of U.S. troops killed or injured during the war in Iraq filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against several U.S. and European
pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, alleging that the corporations knowingly financed the anti-American militia Mahdi Army through bribes and
kickbacks to officials at a government ministry controlled by the group.

After the '03 invasion Iraq's healthcare spending surged. Western Companies paid kick backs billed as commissions or free goods that amounted to as
much as 20% or the contract to get into the smorgasbord of cash.

In the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, Iraq’s health care spending surged, and the Health Ministry’s budget ballooned from $16 million during
Saddam Hussein’s final year in power to about $1 billion in 2004.
Western companies looking to break into the Iraq market were willing to pay kickbacks — billed as “commissions” or “free goods” — that
amounted to as much as 20% of the value of a contract to ministry officials, the lawsuit alleges.
Another way the defendants allegedly made the illegal payments was by including language in the contracts promising after-sales support and other
services related to the product they sold and funded those services by giving money to their local agents.

And the problem was that the extra $$$ was used as a slush fund for the locals, and they gave the money to militants. This violated the US
anti-terrorism act.

"In reality, such services were illusory and functioned merely to create a slush fund the local agents could use to pass on 'commissions to corrupt
(ministry) officials,'" the lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiffs charge that through the transactions the companies aided and abetted the militants, violating the U.S. anti-terrorism act.

I bet those Pharma Companies accused in the lawsuit are glad they paid all that lobbying money, it just may save their asses.

War is a racket as in racketeering. If there is a way to make money off of the suffering of others there are those who will step right up and try and
get (in their minds) their fair share.. These are called smart fellows by their companies..

In the meantime our sailors, aircrews, and field infantry has equipment that should have been overhauled or replaced long ago.

The VA says I NOW have ORGANIC brain damage that an EEG can't pick up.
It was in an MRI, just last year when UI first heard of it a gap ,lower left,they said ,BUT of course I WAS BORN with it so they won't tell me
anything or what it has effected.

I guess we now know one conglomerate of entities that was directly funding the insurgency and the sectarian war within Iraq during those years.

I'm sure there are other sources of funding, equipment, training, etc, but this is definitely a source of funding.

Think about it, the Pharma Corps funded the insurgency.

From the article:

The plaintiffs’ attorneys said the alleged bribery scheme was a continuation of how some of the companies and their affiliates named in the suit
conducted business during the final years of Saddam’s rule.

Hundreds of multinational companies are alleged to have funneled more than $1.7 billion into Saddam’s regime, skirting sanctions by abusing the U.N.
Oil-for-Food program that was designed to soften the impact on the Iraqi people by allowing the supervised sale of some Iraqi oil for food, medicine
and other necessities.

“We believe that the evidence will show that when Jaysh al-Mahdi seized the Iraqi Health Ministry, the defendants continued paying the same bribes
they provided under Saddam — except in far greater amounts," said Ryan Sparacino, one of the attorneys representing plaintiffs in the
lawsuit.

Sadr's distinguished family background, and his fiery anti-occupation rhetoric and calls for the implementation of Islamic law, caused him to
emerge as the leader of this portion of Iraqi Shiite society. In June 2003, after being rejected from a spot on the Iraqi Governing Council, he had
created a militia known as the Mahdi Army, whose mission he said was to help keep order and cleanse Iraq of “evil.”

On April 4, the Mahdi Army was directed to begin launching attacks on coalition targets and to seize control from the nascent U.S-trained Iraqi
security forces. The Mahdi Army, which by then numbered from 3,000 to 10,000 men, organized quickly escalating violent riots and then a coordinated
assault, surprising coalition and Iraqi forces and seizing control of Najaf, Kufa, al-Kut, and parts of Baghdad and southern cities like Nasiriyah,
Amarah, and Basra. A widespread collapse of the Iraqi security forces ensued, with most deserting or defecting to the rebels rather than fighting.
Soon, combat was erupting in many urban centers of southern and central portions of Iraq as U.S. forces attempted to maintain control and prepared for
a counteroffensive.

Over the next three months, over 1,500 Mahdi Army militiamen, several hundred civilians, and dozens of coalition soldiers were killed as the U.S.
gradually took back the southern cities.

The battles ended after a truce was declared, but then in Aug-Sept restarted, notably with a prolonged conflict over Najaf.

Ok, so this guy didn't get to be "important" in the new govt, so convinced tons of people to basically kill each other and unleash chaos as punishment
for the world rejecting him. Of course he cloaked this in political rhetoric, but it's the most likely motivation (hurt egotism).

Let's skip to 2006:

On February 22, 2006, suspected Sunni rebels, dressed as Iraqi police commandos, stormed the Al Askari Mosque in Samarra - a mosque particularly
holy to the Shi'a majority and the location where several imams are buried. Although there were no casualties in the attack, the bombing leveled the
mosque and caused unprecedented anger amongst the Shi'a majority, prompting death squads, largely from the Mahdi Army, to roam the streets of Baghdad
and other major cities, attacking Sunni mosques, killing Sunni civilians and murdering Sunni clerics. The Sunni insurgents and populace soon organized
into their own defensive units and death squads and began further revenge killings, causing a spiral of violence that threatened to take the country
into a full blown civil war.

Sounds pretty crazy right?

They said that Mosque was attacked by suspected Sunni rebels, but the Iraqi police were generally Shi'a.

Violence throughout the spring was largely dominated by inter-Iraqi fighting, leaving the U.S.-led coalition forces unsure of their next move as
death squads engaged in tit-for-tat revenge killings. U.S. commanders were forced to admit that this level of violence was unprecedented in the three
years of American occupation and reconstruction, although both political and military leaders in the United States and Iraq continued to insist that
the country was not on the verge of civil war. The Interior Ministry, the ministry responsible for internal policing and headed by a Shi'a party (the
Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq), was suspected of utilizing entire police squads for sectarian killings and torture. Sunni communities grew fearful
of approaching Iraqi police commandos, and some that had stayed out of the insurgency and the revenge killings formed militias to defend themselves
against what they viewed as Shi'a aggression and encroachment. Often, these militias would open fire on police or army units that were not accompanied
by American or otherwise coalition soldiers.

What if Sadr actually was behind having the "commandos" destroy the mosque? Think of how his reign of terror and death benefited, because it got
restarted and on a whole new level. Now his 'death squads' could just go around executing any Sunni rivals.

One of the Sunni leaders in the sectarian civil war was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, if any of
you remember. He is credited with:

a Jordanian jihadist who ran a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series
of bombings, beheadings, and attacks during the Iraq War, reportedly "turning an insurgency against US troops" in Iraq "into a Shia-Sunni civil
war".[1] He was sometimes known as "Shaykh of the slaughterers".

Muqtada al-Sadr is the Shia leader who still remains at large today, will continue in next
post...

Ok, so think about this - the supposedly "anti-American" Mahdi Army was being funded by international corporations.

That makes Sadr a likely puppet of the sorts, and involved in international politics not on out in the open, but some really questionable activities
behind the scenes in the shadows. Activities that I bet many of his followers would consider Treasonous to their cause.

In fact check this out, more evidence of the puppetry in my opinion:

Following the US withdrawal from Iraq, al-Sadr continued to be an influential figure in Iraqi politics, associated with the Al-Ahrar bloc, whose
Shi'a factions are still at war with not only the government but also the Sunni factions.[44] However, whereas during the war al-Sadr was known for
advocating violence, in 2012 he began to present himself as a proponent of moderation and tolerance and called for peace.[45][46] In February 2014
al-Sadr announced that he was withdrawing from politics and dissolving the party structure to protect his family's reputation.[47]

However, later in 2014 he called for the formation of "Peace Companies", often mistranslated "Peace Brigades", to protect Shia shrines from the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[47] In June, these Peace Companies marched in Sadr City.[48] In addition to guarding shrines, the Peace
Companies participated in offensive operations such as the recapture of Jurf Al Nasr in October 2014.[49] They suspended their activities temporarily
in February 2015,[49] but were active in the Second Battle of Tikrit in March.[50]

Ok so although initially he was looking like this Islamic religious hardliner, now he's very concerned about ISIL/ISIS and actually guided his
followers to defend their shrines against them.

Think about the strange parallel here, we have ISIS over there 'destroying shrines', which is the equivalent of our 'confederate statues' in the US.
The reasoning is similar too, as the shrine/statue represents 'bla bla bla' which is construed as evil, bad, etc.

Thankfully in the US our radicalized folks aren't as outwardly violent and insane as ISIS, but there is a strange political parallel here.

The Second Battle of Tikrit was a battle in which the Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Tikrit (the provincial capital of the Saladin
Governorate) from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Iraqi forces consisted of the Government's Security Forces and the Popular
Mobilization Forces (the bulk of the ground forces, consisted of Shia militiamen and also some Sunni tribesmen), receiving assistance from Iran's Quds
Force officers on the ground, and American, British, and French air forces.

Now scroll down to Sectarian and Humanitarian concerns:

The Iraqi armed forces are not the only component of the allied army to be suspected of abuses. The Shi'ite paramilitary groups (trained and
supported by Iran) have also been accused of playing a part in the human rights violations uncovered recently.[175]

This is the case, despite the fact that a significant faction within the allied forces are Sunni tribesman who fought alongside the ISF &
paramilitaries against ISIL. A prominent Iraqi Sunni preacher, Abdul Jabbar, has been quoted as saying "We ask that actions follow words to punish
those who are attacking houses in Tikrit... we are sorry about those acting in revenge that might ignite tribal anger and add to our sectarian
problems."

Now imagine how confusing this really is. So the Shia and Sunni factions allied with the Western factions and the Iraqi puppet govt to fight ISIL/ISIS
and in the whole cluster# they were just murdering people based on 'sectarian' ideology. This whole thing is so incredibly confusing though that it's
difficult to say to what degree or extent this happened, and who was behind most of it, but if you recognize that this is an individual by individual
basis within a battle zone (mainly Tikrit), I'm willing to betcha that both of these paramilitary militia forces did a little bit of sectarian killing
of those they found along their way. It's par for the course after all isn't it?

Back to al-Sadr last year:

On 26 February 2016, Sadr led a million man demonstration in Baghdad's Tahrir Square to protest corruption in Iraq and the government's failure to
deliver on reforms. "Abadi must carry out grassroots reform," Sadr said in front of the protesters. "Raise your voice and shout so the corrupt get
scared of you," he encouraged the people.[51] On the 18th of March, Sadr's followers began a sit-in outside the Green Zone, a heavily fortified
district in Baghdad housing government offices and embassies. He called the Green Zone "a bastion of support for corruption".[52]

On 27 March, he himself walked into the Green Zone to begin a sit-in, urging followers to stay outside and remain peaceful. The Iraqi Army general
in charge of security at the Green Zone kissed Sadr's hand as he allowed him to enter.[53] He met with Abadi on 26 December to discuss the reform
project he proposed during protests early in the year.[54] Following the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack in Syria on 4 April 2017, Sadr called for
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down

So he's against ISIL and Assad too now? That's a very mainstream Western position isn't it? And it really makes this whole thing very confusing
because it's almost a free-for-all every-man-for-himself type deathmatch.

In my analysis of this situation I am willing to wager that al-Sadr is "controlled opposition" and is used as both a type of mafia don +
religious/political leader in that pursuit.

The fact that his faction got tons of cash $$$ from multinational corporations and kept it quiet is a HUGE CLUE.

The reason behind all of this isn't exactly religion in my estimate, based on what I've seen here.

Because if religion was a super huge deal, as it's claimed to be, Sadr wouldn't have played ball with the $$$ gig.

Instead, I allege that religion (Islam) is just a Pretext (a reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason).

The real reason is the vast wealth of the region, and holding power over that for posterity. If you kill your opposition, they no longer vie for that
wealth. And there are less people to share that wealth with. Religion comes in because when deciding who you want to share the future with, it's
easier to imagine sharing it with like-minded individuals rather than those who might disagree over trivial things and create petty disputes more
often.

The greater Iraq region holds incredible resources and historical treasures, it is geographically positioned in a very strategically important area
(middle of the world), and it's population constitutes a very important future market (think 2050 or 2100).

After things calm down, many people will return and it's population will skyrocket, so keep that in mind.
And not only is this an emerging market, it's increasingly westernized (like all markets inevitably are).

One has a designated prayer room. Another frisks patrons at the entrance, requiring them to check their pistols, like coats in a fancy restaurant.
They are good places to escape the desert heat, and in a conservative Islamic culture, they are one of the few places where young couples openly flirt
or women smoke cigarettes in public.

American-style malls, fixtures in most of Iraq’s wealthy Persian Gulf neighbors, have come late to war-torn Baghdad, but Iraqis are taking to them
now like Valley Girls, as a consumer society fueled by the country’s booming oil profits begins to flourish here.

And this of course is super important, regarding the fact Iraq is said to have 12% of the world's oil reserves:

The total value of Iraq oil reserves at an average profit of $75 per barrel over next 100 years is 360 billion x $75 = $27 trillion or $900,000 per capita, making every Iraqi a millionaire. These calculations do not include natural gas revenue,
lately about equal to oil revenue.Moreover, most of Iraq has not been explored for gas or oil.

So compile all of Iraq's natural resources together and we are talking 75 to 100 trillion $ in profitability by 2100? Something like this. That's an
estimate of course.

Add in the antiquities markets, possible future tourism, the consumer base, etc, and we're talking about something worth fighting and dying for (in
the minds of most people).

That's why all of this really happened. Money.
And who's gonna have power over that wealth?
So therefore every faction kills each other till the king of the hill becomes apparent.

I'm thinking that al-Sadr's faction won out pretty big here, now that the dust has mostly settled.

And of course since Big Pharma bankrolled the Mahdi Army to some degree (knowingly), it seems pretty safe to conclude that Big Pharma won out pretty
big in Iraq.

I think they should pay up a hefty settlement to the plaintiffs in the case mentioned in the OP. If they are going to profit off all the carnage, than
the families of servicemen and women who died as a result of it ought to receive a cushion for their distress made of millions of $$$.

Rather than suing the US Govt, which is freaking hard and likely unprofitable, sue corporations instead. Corporations are much easier to bring into
$ettlement than the government, plus they lack the strong immunity from liability that the govt enjoys.

I think you should open your mind to 'other' possibilities here, maybe it wasn't Squalene? Maybe it was something else. Open the door to whatever
might come up.

Then go shopping for attorneys and sue the corporations involved in these things, and get compensated for the pain you have been going through. It's
your Right.

Big Pharma in Europe may not be as bad as some of our pharma companies here but they are corrupt too. Not all pharmacology companies are bad, some do
make things necessary to our people. Usually they do not get rich though.

Reclusive..on disability ..in Colorado Springs...NAME 1st P.O.C.
And how to package all 30 things as an unknown affliction?
They already BAILED responsibility by coding my back ,lower left, brain damage as "Organic",they haven't yet told me what that gap affects either,as
far as I can tell MATH and things like diagraming a sentence(Algorithmic?)...but a savant at shape progression tests,with PHD level abilities,what
ever THAT means.
but the lack of air, fatigue and PTSD pretty much keep me home.

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